Gay couples face rental bias nationwide, HUD study finds

Jun. 21, 2013

Written by

Hamlet Fort

The Tennessean

Bias by numbers

In the study, heterosexual couples were consistently favored over gay male or lesbian couples, at a rate of 15.9 and 15.6 percent, respectively. These estimates are comparable to the way in which whites are consistently favored in housing surveys, relative to black and Hispanic home seekers, at a rate of 21.6 and 25.7 percent, respectively.

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Same-sex couples are treated less favorably than heterosexual couples when seeking information about rental housing advertised over the Internet, according to a first-of-its-kind national study from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The study, released this week, found that gay and lesbian couples were less likely to receive a response to email inquiries about rental properties than straight couples. It also found that gay couples experienced discrimination slightly more often than lesbian couples.

Federal housing laws do not bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But 20 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws that prohibit discrimination against people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

HUD recently issued new guidance that treats discrimination based on “sex stereotyping” or “gender nonconformity” as sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

“This research, the attention that it’s getting, is great,” said Howe. “We have to send that message that, yes, this happens, and the GLBT community needs legal protection.”

The HUD study is based on nearly 7,000 email tests in 50 major metropolitan markets between June and October 2011. In each test, two emails — one from a same-sex couple, and another from a heterosexual couple — were sent to a landlord seeking information about a unit that was advertised online.

Heterosexual couples were favored over gay male couples 15.9 percent of the time and over lesbian couples in 15.6 percent of tests.

“I have to give HUD credit for looking at this,” said Rodriguez. “HUD is really trying to give the GLBT community the same access to housing, and I applaud that effort.”

Conflicting views in Middle Tennessee

There has been no study like this specific to the greater Middle Tennessee area, but Rodriguez said her office has received calls related to same-sex discrimination in the rental market.

“We get calls from time to time from same-sex couples who feel they have been discriminated against by landlords, either before or after they’ve rented the unit,” she said.

Discrimination against same-sex couples in the rental housing market should be a non-issue, says Woody McLaughlin, member of the Greater Nashville Apartment Association.

“From a Nashville point of view, everybody is trying to get the best renters they can in a very competitive market,” McLaughlin said. “That’s not a concern I ever hear expressed.”

Samantha Friedman, a sociology professor at the University of Albany and lead author of the study, said that in some instances, it’s possible the lack of response could have been for reasons other than discrimination. But she called the overall numbers alarming.

“Given how easy it is for providers to respond to emails, this finding is disturbing, that they’re not getting a response,” Friedman said. “This discrimination is found at the initial stage of the housing search process, which would mean that same-sex couples are being shut out of the housing process right away.”

HUD officials called the study a first step toward future research on same-sex housing discrimination.

“This study’s results are disturbing and confirm something we’ve all suspected but didn’t have the firm data to prove: Lesbian and gay couples are discriminated against when they look for places to live,” said Ian Thompson, legislative representative for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU is urging Congress to amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.